Down every road you've been
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and nine: VALENTINES #4 Tina calls on Artie to accompany her to a family party.


Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, and fifty cycle. Now here's cycle 6!

Valentine's Day is coming, of course I couldn't ignore it! So I picked ten couples (some with OC characters) and set them for a love fest! :D Then on Valentine's Day, a group story! (not that kind of group, minds out of the gutter!) *cough* Anyhoo...  
**Valentine for the Gleeks, 4 of 11: Artie & Tina**

* * *

**"Down every road you've been"  
Artie/Tina**

She knew it was a risky move. Would asking him send them into a bad scenario? There was a reason she wanted him there, to make this potential train wreck of an evening that much more bearable.

As many cousins as she had on one side of her family, on the other… she was all alone, left at the mercy of aunts, uncles, grandparents, who would either criticize or interrogate her. This evening, her grandparents' anniversary dinner, was just going to be a breeding ground for her misery. If she had Artie there, she had someone to escape with. But then they might go and say something out of place and insult him…

She hesitated for so long at the end of Glee practice that she almost missed her shot at asking him… she had to go for it.

"Artie, wait…" she called, rushing after him. When he turned, she looked around to see that the others had left. "I need to ask you something…" He frowned.

"Something wrong?"

"No, no, it's not…" she sighed. "It's my grandparents' wedding anniversary this weekend…"

"Cohens or Changs?" he smiled… she was cute when she was nervous… He didn't know why she was…

"Cohens," she nodded. "They're fine in small doses, but when they're all together…" she gestured some kind of explosion.

"I don't understand what…"

"Will you come? With me…" He was surprised, but then smiled. "It'd really mean a lot, to no one else but me though, so if you can't though, I…"

"I'm in," he cut in, and she grinned. 'You're all the reason I need…' he heard in his mind.

The day of the party, Tina was a nervous wreck. She was growing more and more aware of the fact that she could be walking into a disaster – in yet another ridiculous dress – and dragging Artie along with her.

He couldn't drive in with them, so she'd given him the address. After she and her parents arrived, she waited outside. She scanned the street to spot the Abrams' car when it would come. She finally saw it just as they pulled up. She hurried on down the path to stop at the sidewalk. She watched Artie's father get out to get the wheelchair.

"Hey, Mr. Abrams," she waved. He stopped when he saw her, smiling.

"Afternoon, Tina," he nodded. "Nice dress," he commented. She was about to reply when she heard a laugh from inside the car… Artie was cracking up. She walked up to the window and gave it a knock. Artie rolled it down, and she leaned sideways to see him.

"Yes, Arthur?" she spoke innocently, and he played mock outrage, making her smile… maybe he really could Superman this evening…

Once Mr. Abrams was off, Artie and Tina had headed toward the house. "I like your suspenders," she looked at him. He flexed them.

"My Sunday best on a Saturday," he declared. "And the dress is good."

"You don't have to say that," she smiled.

"I swear," he held up his hand.

"Well speaking of swearing, I can't promise they'll all behave themselves." He looked at her.

"I'll be fine, don't worry."

"I kind of have to," she breathed out as they reached the door.

Her parents hadn't met Artie yet, but she'd spoken about him plenty of times to know him. Hands were shaken, introductions were made… and then her aunts and uncles got a hold of her and she didn't see Artie again for twenty minutes. When she found him again, he had a small paper plate full of small food balanced in his lap. When he saw how relieved she was to see him, he offered the plate.

"Your mother brought it to me," he explained. Tina grabbed a small half-sandwich.

"Thanks," she took one bite and another. "I'm so sorry, they wouldn't let me go, I got out as soon as I could."

"Don't worry about it, I'm good. I've got the tiny food, and let's not forget the tiny Tina," he pointed to the pictures on the wall. She looked, then blushed. "Nice costume," he indicated a Halloween picture of a five-year-old Tina as Cinderella. "Never pegged you as the princess type." He looked at her dress. "Although…"

"You find this funny, don't you?" she nodded with a smirk.

"Pretty funny," he agreed.

"Well it stays between us," she demanded/begged.

"Again, I swear," he offered her more food, which she took.

Eventually the rest of the family, friends, and other guests had started coming at them, wanting to meet 'Tina's new friend.' She watched them, hoping they wouldn't say anything bad…

All things considered, they got off easy. By the time they finished dinner, Tina had forgotten her earlier concerns. As the party guests dispersed once more, they retreated into the kitchen. Artie saw Tina had a bit of a smirk on her face. In the background, they could hear faint music… people were dancing in the living room. "What's…" he indicated her smirk. She looked away for a moment.

"I think my grandmother thinks we're dating," she went on smirking. Artie smiled; she shrugged. "I don't know…"

"Well, why not…" She looked at him, not smirking now, locked on him.

He rolled a couple inches forward. She didn't move away. Just the two of them there, he felt a melody in him, beyond the notes in the next room.

"_There's a place in your heart nobody's been / Take me there / Things nobody knows, not even your friends / Take me there._

_Tell me 'bout your mama, your daddy, your hometown, show me around / I wanna see it all, don't leave anything out._

_I wanna know everything about you then / And I wanna go down every road you've been / Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live / Where you keep the rest of your life hid / I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare / Take me there."_

Maybe it was just in his head… but he swore she could hear him. And she was smiling. He held his hand out to her, and she took it. He wanted to dance with her…

"_Your first real kiss, your first true love / You were scared, show me where / You learned about life, spent your summer nights / Without a care._

_I wanna roll down Main Street, the back roads / Like you did when you were a kid / What made you who you are / Tell me what your story is."_

He got to have his dance. He let her sit on his lap, arms around his shoulders… he moved his chair around, but he only had eyes for her.

"_I wanna know everything about you then / And I wanna go down every road you've been / Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live / Where you keep the rest of your life hid / I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare / Take me there._

_Yeah, I wanna know everything about you / Yeah, everything about you baby / I wanna go down every road you've been / Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live / Where you keep the rest of your life hid / I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare / Take me, take me, take me there."_

His heart was beating fast… the last time he'd gotten close to Tina was when she'd kissed him in the hall at McKinley, after their one and only date… It had not ended well. This was different though… the way they were now, he could feel the warmth that always emanated from her… and it filled him up.

"_I wanna roll down Main Street / I wanna know your hopes and your dreams / Take me, take me there."_

She was still smiling at him, her face just inches away. "I'm really glad you came," she spoke softly, still conscious of the people in the other room.

"Anytime. At your service, whatever the event, so long as there are little sandwiches," he smiled and declared. She laughed. And then she kissed him.

THE END


End file.
